North Bay parents keep children active with outdoor backyard rinks
The 'Smith Centre' on Kathryn Crescent in North Bay is not the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs or the North Bay Battalion but 9-year-old Samuel Smith. Samuel’s dad, Chuck, crafted the family backyard rink as a way for Samuel to continue playing the sport he loves.
At night, 'Smith Centre' is lit up.
The backyard rink is in its inaugural year.
"The only thing I did before was layer up water around snowbanks but it didn’t work really well," said Chuck. "We really only got between two and three weeks out of it."
It’s Samuel’s first year playing minor hockey. With the season on currently hold in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chuck wanted to make sure his son was able to keep skating.
"I kind of wondered if we might have had another lockdown so I wanted to make sure he can keep building his skills," said Chuck. "We’re hoping it’s back up and running soon. He’s missing it for sure."
In the community of Yellek, on the Nipissing First Nation, there's a battle for the puck between cousins Ryerson and Dustin on the Davis rink.
"I built the boards in the summer with plywood, 2x4s and I buy a tarp and lay it down to keep the water inside it and maintain it," explained father Ryan Davis.
When Ryan was younger, his dad built him an outdoor rink. Ryan has built Ryerson an outdoor rink for the last five winters. He wanted to continue the tradition for his son, who currently plays hockey.
"At least he’s able to get on the ice and get on skating while everything is out on hold," said Ryan.
As young hockey players patiently wait to play again, passing the time on an outdoor rink slapping a few pucks in the net will be the way to keep the stick on the ice.
If you can’t make your own rink, the City of North Bay has 11 public rinks ready to go. Six of them are currently open.
Weather permitting, the city is hoping to get the other public rinks open as soon as possible.
To check the status of the outdoor rinks, check out the city’s website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.